One Fearless Step - 08/08


One Fearless Step

While we continue to strive for greater perspective, we continue to faithfully take one step at a time.

Over the years, my career has taken some interesting twists and turns.  I had hoped to be in a different situation regarding my career and financial situation. I have experienced various periods of success, unemployment or under-employment.  There have been multiple times when we reached the very ends of our means.  We had used almost all of our food storage, all of our savings, and then, at the last minute, we would get a job.  We have been significantly blessed, over the years, to have survived these financial troubles without life-altering effects.  So far, we have been able to pay our bills, keep food on the table, and keep our home.  During these times, I often wondered what lessons we were to learn.  I remember one time in particular, when we were at the very end, I had the strong feeling like everything was going to be ok.  Even when it seemed desperate, I felt reassurance.

I enjoy life.  I like the beauty of the world and the people in it. I like the phrase “enjoy the journey”. I try to apply that motto most of the time.  However, it can sometimes be a challenge. I think of where I’d hoped to be at this point in my live. I think about the future. When life is hard, it can sometimes be difficult to enjoy the day to day journey.

My darling wife Jo, reminds me that Heavenly Father has looked after us, so we should be grateful and press forward with faith. At one particularly challenging point in my life, Jo gave me a small ruler with a saying on it.  It said simply, “Muddle Through”.  I have often reflected on that saying and it as encouraged me to continue pushing forward day to day, even when I don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel.

We are not always shown

There are times when God doesn’t show us everything to come and expects us to continue forward.  Sometimes he does show, and sometimes he doesn’t.  I believe it depends on what we need to learn.

Even with his great faith, I think Nephi must have felt worried as he returned to Jerusalem to get the history of his people. “And it was by night; and I caused that they should hide themselves without the walls. And after they had hid themselves, I, Nephi, crept into the city and went forth towards the house of Laban. And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do.” [1]  He didn’t know where to go, or what he was going to do.  Heavenly Father did not show him in advance what he was to do. He only knew what he need to do, but not how.

I like the example of the Brother of Jared when he was asked to build his boats.  He didn’t know how to do it, but the Lord gave him instruction. “And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did go to work, and also his brethren, and built barges after the manner which they had built, according to the instructions of the Lord.” [2] But when it came to lighting the boat, the Lord did not tell him what to do, but asked him, “What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels?[3] The Lord could have shown the way, explained what to do, but the Brother of Jared must have needed to learn something. The Lord asked him a question and he was forced to think up a solution on his own. I think this was the turning point for him. He pushed his faith to the point where he became a man of faith like no other.

There are lots of examples of this principle in the scriptures:  Think of Lehi and his family wandering in the wilderness until they found the Liahona.  Heavenly Father didn’t provide the Liahona at the beginning of their journey. There are times in our lives when Heavenly Father will provide direction and there are times when we have to push forward in faith.

It is during periods of trouble and worry that we have to trust our Heavenly Father and know that he loves us and is aware of us. We understand the we do not comprehend His will. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.[4]

One of my favorite hymns is Lead Kindly Light.  When I was a missionary in Italy, there were many times when I read the words to this hymn and trusted that God would show me just the next step I should take.

Here is a little background around the writing of that hymn: “As a young priest traveling in Italy in 1833, Englishman John Henry Newman encountered emotional and physical darkness when illness detained him there for several weeks. He became deeply discouraged, and a nurse who saw his tears asked what troubled him. All he could reply was that he was sure God had work for him to do in England. Aching to return home, he finally found passage on a small boat.

Not long after the ship set sail, thick fog descended and obscured the hazardous cliffs surrounding them. Trapped for a week in the damp, gray darkness, the ship unable to travel forward or back, Newman pled for his Savior’s help as he penned the words we now know as the hymn “Lead, Kindly Light.”” Virginia U. Jensen, “‘Lead, Kindly Light’,” Ensign, Nov 2000, 62–63
Lead, Kindly Light

Lead, kindly Light, amid th’encircling gloom;
Lead thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home;
Lead thou me on!
Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene—one step enough for me.
Text: John Henry Newman, 1801–1890
Music: John B. Dykes, 1823–1876


Harold B. Lee would say to his grandson: “Don’t live too far into the future. Live for today.” He would say, “Survey large fields and cultivate small ones. Do the good that is right before you.” “Live for today, and let the Spirit guide you to do the good you can today. Don’t live too far into the future.” [5]

President Kimball, as president of the Church, concluded his BYU “Second Century Address” in 1975 with similar thoughts:  “It ought to be obvious to you, as it is to me, that some of the things the Lord would have occur in the second century of the BYU are hidden from our immediate view. Until we have climbed the hill just before us, we are not apt to be given a glimpse of what lies beyond. The hills ahead are higher than we think. This means that accomplishments and further direction must occur in proper order, after we have done our part. We will not be transported from point A to point Z without having to pass through the developmental and demanding experiences of all the points of achievement and all the milestone markers the lie between!”[6]

So why are we left alone and often sad? Why does not God do everything for us, or at least show us more so that we can rest easy?" President Young responded "to act as an independent being"--to see what we will do, whether we will be "for God or not"--and in developing our own resources. Such experiences will teach us to be "righteous in the dark--to be a friend of God" (Brigham Young Office Journal, 28 January 1857).

To be righteous in the dark, to be faithful when we feel forsaken and forgotten and alone "amid th' encircling gloom.”  This is the challenge we face.

In my professional work, I have often used the phrase, “happily discontented”.  This refers to a state of being discontent, in that there is more work to be done, improvements to be made, and goals to achieve.  Yet is also refers to being happy during this process - appreciating where we are at, the progress made and the good people you work with, etc. 

I still feel that I need to do more for my family, have greater success, and provide more for the financial and spiritual welfare for my family.  Yet, I reflect on the goals I set when I was a young, unmarried man.  I wanted to have a wonderful, loving wife, a nice and safe home, and to have happy loving children. I have been blessed with all of these things.  While I still worry about my current status in this mortal life, I am content in the love of my family, my joy in the gospel, and continue to take small steps of faith along the path that He sets before me.

If you were to ask yourself a question – “of what am I most afraid?” you might come up with a few things that are also on my list: spiders, heights, dark water and things like that.  But if you though more deeply in your heart about the things that are most important, your list might take a more serious tone.  Your list still might include some of the things on my list, like: Not being able to provide for my family, that I haven’t taught all of the things to my children that I should have, I fear that my Heavenly Father or worse, my Heavenly Mother will be disappointed in me. I fear that my children will be hurt.  I fear being alone. But, there are things that can help me to overcome these fears.  First, think about this statement:
Desire must overcome fear. Love must drive desire.
I can think of many times when you, my children, were hurt or in need.  Because I love you, I have the desire to protect you.  That desire drives me to overcome fear.  For example, where there is a spider, I would rather not have to get it.  But, my love for you creates the desire in me to protect you, and overcomes my fear.  In this same light, the fears that stop us, can be overcome by love.  Love must drive our desires.  Those desires can overcome our fears.
There are additional ways that Heavenly Father help us overcome fears.  These include prayer, faith, being prepared, and divine support
When I was a child, I knew that if I prayed that Heavenly Father would help me to not be afraid.  I know that he still comforts me and helps me when I feel fear.
President David O. McKay faced fear when he was young. “One night [when I was young] … I awoke and soon imagined I could hear footsteps near the window. … My fears must have been at a pretty high pitch, for I breathed heavily, and it seemed I could hear my heart thumping. “True to my mother’s training and the natural yearning of my soul, I sought the Lord in prayer. To me there was only one way to pray and that was to kneel at the bedside. It was no small effort to get out of bed and kneel in the dark, but I did it, and prayed as never before for God’s comfort and protection. Just as I said ‘Amen,’ I heard a voice say as distinctly as I ever heard a voice in my life, ‘Don’t be afraid, nothing will hurt you.’ Immediately all fear left me. I felt comforted at once and crept back to bed to a sweet and peaceful sleep” [7]
Prayer is a key element in helping us overcome our fears and enabling us to push forward. Heavenly Father has answered my prayers many times.
Faith is another key element.  The stripling warriors had a faith that enabled them to eliminate even the fear of death.  “Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them.”[8]
 “We have nothing to fear. God is at the helm. He will shower down blessings upon those who walk in obedience to His commandments”[9]
“I tell you these things because of your prayers; … if ye are prepared ye shall not fear.”[10]
I know that Divine intervention occurs more frequently than we can imagine.  There have been multiple times when I know that I have been protected.  I know that He sends angels to comfort and protect, just like he did for Daniel. “My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me.”[11]  Gordon B. Hinckley stated in one of his talks, “You have the right to ministering angels about you to protect you.”[12]
Lastly, this is my favorite scripture.  It reassures me that Heavenly Father loves me and will love me forever.
“ And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good. The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he? Therefore, hold on thy way, and the priesthood shall remain with thee; for their bounds are set, they cannot pass. Thy days are known, and thy years shall not be numbered less; therefore, fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever.”[13]
Please know of my undying love for you, each one.  My greatest joy comes from my love for my wife and secondly from you.  I know that our father in heaven loves us, and loves you, even more than I do.  It is hard for me to imagine that, but I know that he does.  I know that he will protect and bless you and you push forward one step at a time, faithfully and fearlessly.


[1]  Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 4:5-7
[2] Book of Mormon, Ether2:16
[3] Book of Mormon, Ether 2:23
[4]  Bible, Isaiah 55: 8,9
[5]  http://speeches.byu.edu/reader/reader.php?id=10893
[6]  http://speeches.byu.edu/reader/reader.php?id=6058
[7] A Lesson in Faith,” Improvement Era, Aug. 1964, p. 637
[8] Book of Mormon, Alma 56:47
[9] Conference Report, Apr. 1995, 93–95.
[10] D&C 38:32
[11] The Old Testament, Dan. 6:22
[12] Gordon B. Hinckley, “Overpowering the Goliaths in Our Lives,” Ensign, May 1983, 46
[13] D&C 122: 7-9
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